CITY HALL — Police Chief Randy Adams, citing the need for an extended break from nearly 37 years of public service, said he will retire in July.
His retirement is scheduled to be announced publicly today after City Council members were officially notified of his decision Tuesday evening against the backdrop of a citywide election.
The announcement comes nearly eight months after Adams, 58, slammed “vicious” and “absolutely false” rumors that he had given notice to city executives in August.
Adams said he decided to retire months later after determining that his command staff was at a point where it could continue without him. And given the impending belt-tightening planned for later this spring, it made sense to step out when his absence could “provide some purpose and benefit in terms of savings.”
If Assistant Police Chief Ron DePompa were to take over as interim chief, leaving a top position open in the department, it would free up about $180,000 in salary money “that could actually save a couple line-level police officers,” Adams said.
“Any good coach of a winning team knows when to step out in the right moment in history,” Adams said Tuesday.
The careful timing of his announcement reflected the political atmosphere in which Adams is preparing to leave, he said.
The recent decision of a federal jury to award a Sunland man $1.31 million in compensatory and punitive damages for spending eight months in jail for a murder he didn’t commit has riled the Armenian National Committee Glendale chapter, which called for an outside review of how Glendale police handled the case.
Glendale officers, who arrested Edmond Ovasapyan on suspicion of murder in 2005 after he was identified by a witness, have strongly defended their actions, arguing the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office had the final call.
In a statement issued last week, Adams said Glendale police detectives had cleared Ovasapyan through DNA analysis, even after the case was out of their hands. The evidence eventually tied another prison inmate to the crime.
Given the volatile election season, Adams said he decided to keep retirement plans secret until after Tuesday to prevent it from becoming an electioneering ploy.
“People have a tendency to spin things in certain directions, so I’m just trying to neutralize it right now,” he said.
